Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has put forward conditions for improving relations between Moscow and Washington, including the return of the Russian diplomatic property, during his meeting with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon.
"We came up with a number of ideas on how to achieve a visible and tangible improvement in relations. This also applies to the issue of the unconditional return of the Russian diplomatic property to us. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that we are on the verge of finding a solution and resolving this situation," he stressed.
According to Ryabkov, the meeting with Shannon held on Monday "went off predictably." "We expected great difficulties during the consultations with the Americans not only on the diplomatic property issue, but on most other issues as well, and so it happened,"TASS cited the minister as saying.
Illegal actions by the US regarding Russian diplomatic property in New York and Maryland cannot go unanswered, Ryabkov said after negotiations with Shannon.
"Such unacceptable and illegal actions cannot go unanswered," he said. "Nothing is to declare on the issue yet, but we have warned Americans that we need an unconditional return of the property; otherwise, retaliation measures will follow."
The senior diplomat confirmed that the dialogue on this issue would continue. "The US side should respond to our numerous signals on what has to be done. We cannot go round in circles. Yet, there is understanding that the consultations will continue," he concluded.
